•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•[Prayer at a Sunburst group meditation. Thank you to Tom Rae for sharing his aurora borealis photo.]
Almighty Spirit, our Divine Father, our Divine Mother, we feel you alighting on the crowns of our heads, swirling down in your vortexes of light, touching our hearts, breathing in our lungs. We see glimpses of your light before us, through the eye of soul. You are the light of consciousness inhabiting all. You have fashioned each one of us so uniquely.
I see your miracles everywhere in the beauty of this creation. What a wonder it is to be alive in this body, to be able to meditate, to pray, to sing.
What a wonderful energy is produced in a gathering of souls, when the little self in each one joins You, the Great Self that created all of us. Like a bouquet, we offer this to You, Oh God.
Heal our minds and our bodies. Bless us with your presence. Let us feel You descending through the crowns of our heads. Let us see the light of your Cosmic Sun shining in inner space.
Oh Lord, You are the Great Comforter. You mothered us when we were babes, and you have taught us as we’ve grown. We turn to you now, and seek you in those days of life we have before us. We wish to know and serve you.
Reveal your presence to us more and more each day. In our prayers and meditations, all through our days, and when we wake in the darkness of the night, remind us of your presence.
We know You created each one of us, and You are here now as much as You ever will be. We need to discover You, to meet You, to feel your love in our hearts, and see that great light, your Cosmic Sun seen only by the eye of soul.
Divine One, when we pray to You in our meditations, if we listen deeply we can hear our voices in inner space; we have a voice in heaven! You listen to our prayers and answer us with a voice we can hear. In the great hall of the upper chamber within us, we meet You.
You are the light of soul existing in and around each thought. You know we are searching for You. You know our desires. You know our restlessness. You know our love for You. As we sit to meditate, You acknowledge all of this.
Almighty Spirit, our beloved Father and Mother, You are watching and waiting for us to give You our love and attention. You are here, residing within us. We are your children. We love You, Almighty Spirit.
•by Dawn King•During this festive to frantic time of the year, we are especially challenged to maintain an even keel of mental and emotional calmness. Current planetary alignments reflect the fact that this will continue to be particularly challenging right through the end of the year. Keeping the following affirmations and quotes at hand in memory, or as a physical cue, can help us survive gracefully.
Daily meditation is the key to stilling the mind.
To control the breath is to control the mind.
Affirmation: I take a deep breath and realize this moment is a fleeting scene in a cosmic play. I remember that I am a divine spark of God manifesting in this physical body. A detached enjoyment of life helps me maintain my spiritual awareness.
Affirmation:I relax and cast aside all mental burdens, allowing God to express through me perfect love, peace, and wisdom.
Sibylle Custer: This world we live in has been compared to a web. If you touch a spider web in one place, the whole web quivers. Our vibrations, our thoughts, what we do, all send a quiver through the web of this planet. May the vibrations that we each send out this moment, this day, be for the healing and comfort and upliftment of all.
Paramahansa Yogananda: God has given us one tremendous instrument of protection—more powerful than machine guns, electricity, poison gas, or any medic—the mind. It is the mind that must be strengthened. An important part of the adventure of life is to get hold of the mind and to keep that controlled mind constantly attuned to the Lord. This is the secret of a happy, successful existence. It comes by exercising mind power and by attuning the mind to God through meditation. Be in constant attunement with God. Talking with Arjuna, in the Bhagavad Gita God says: “The state of constant calmness (neutralization of restless thoughts) is attained by the continuous practice of meditation and by keeping the attention fixed at the point between the eyebrows. In this state of calmness, man witnesses the thoughts and emotions and their workings without being disturbed at all, reflecting in his consciousness only the unchangeable image of Spirit.
•by Fredd Dunham•At the beginning of my spiritual path, I was blessed with an experience that utterly changed my life. The events that led up to this experience remind me that God is always watching over us with divine love, watching and helping us with our choices in life, if we only ask.
As a young man in the early 1970s, a deep longing for Spirit awakened within me. I had been involved in many of the distractions of that era, but was struggling to find my way out. I heard about a meditation center in the mountains above Santa Barbara and was immediately attracted to the energy. I attended one of the meditations and met the founder, Norm Paulsen, who invited me to live in the downtown office of the retreat center as its caretaker.
At the time, I was not totally clear on the necessity of staying away from drugs, alcohol, and other distractions in order to live a spiritual life. So one day I accepted the invitation of an old friend to her party in the foothills of Santa Barbara. She asked me to bring firewood, and gave me money to pick up a bottle of wine.
I went back to the retreat office to load up the firewood, and ran into Norm there. I mentioned my plans as we sat down. Norm looked at me compassionately, then said: “If you want the experience of divine illumination, you won’t find it in something outside of yourself. As Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is within you.’ It’s already there. Seek and you shall find.” I could feel the power of truth emanating from Norm as he quietly spoke.
After further discussion, he left to drive up the mountain and attend group meditation. I was alone, struggling to make my decision. My inner spirit was saying, “Yes I want to meditate and awaken God’s Spirit within me; this is what I want in life.” But my self-conscious mind argued, “You promised to go to the party, to bring the firewood, to buy the wine. You have to go! You promised!”
I loaded up the wood, but didn’t buy the wine, thinking that I would just give my friend her money back. I headed up to the party, praying fervently, while a battle was going on within me. The closer I got to the party, the more agitated I became as the struggle within me intensified.
The road to the party was full of curves as it gently climbed and wound in and out of canyons. Turning the first curve, I could see a huge, beautiful cloud above and in front of me. Each time I rounded a curve I would lose sight of it. Then around another curve, there it was again as if it was following me, watching me.
As I was about to round the last corner I realized I had to make a choice immediately. In my anguish, I cried out: “Oh God, I don’t want to tempt you, but please show me a sign!” Turning the next corner, I saw the huge cloud had changed. It had become a giant arrow pointing toward the top of the mountain, right toward the meditation retreat!
In the depths of my soul, a great sigh of relief expressed: “Thank you Lord!” I turned the car around and didn’t take my foot off the accelerator until I returned to the road that led to the retreat. Arriving just as meditation started, I joined the circle without a word.
It has been said that God comes when we least expect it. As I sat down in the meditation room, over my head I suddenly beheld the radiant, living body of Christ, a sphere of light brighter than the daytime sun. It was composed of ten thousand orbs of light—suns within a Sun. They were constantly moving at incredible speed, like bees outside of a hive, each one striking me on the crown of my head with divine power. I was filled with indescribably ecstasy, and knew in that moment what was meant by: “I stand at the door and knock.” The loving light of Christ eternally stands at that door on the crown of each person’s head, knocking and waiting to be invited to enter in.
This experience set my feet on the homeward path to Divine Spirit. Although it’s often hard to hold onto that energy in daily life, I know that God doesn’t look at how many times we fall, or what mistakes we make. Instead, our Divine Parents are very much like loving parents in this life who are watching their young child learn to walk. If the child falls, there’s no reproach, only love and encouragement to get up and try again. If we reach up one hand to Spirit, Spirit will reach down two to help us.
• by April • The world I dream of living in, creating, and being a part of…
Society truly exists as one heart. Being“real.”
Not wondering if someone is being honest.
Not hiding behind shadows.
Expressing oneself freely without fear/concern of being judged, because no one judges.
Having and being a friend where endless patience, support and encouragement is prevalent.
All animals are loved and revered and are protected from all harm.
Children are encouraged to be themselves. Starting in school by hearing the questions: What excites you? What makes you feel impassioned? What do you want to learn about? What are you curious about? What does your heart whisper to you? What is important to you? How best can you help others? What is love to you? These are a very small list of questions to jump start every child’s life journey.
Experiencing nature every day is commonplace.
Sunrises and Sunsets have deep meaning that everyone understands.
All the elements are experienced in a plethora of ways.
Everyone is encouraged to be their best self. No matter how many lessons it takes, or how long it takes, knowing you are loved and supported, and
you will eventually be the best version possible.
All talents are recognized, needed and appreciated.
All jobs/responsibilities are honored. None better or more important than another.
Respect, kindness and gratitude are natural/common expressions.
The gifts of Mother Earth and all the elements are always loved, respected and understood.
Every person on Mother Earth, knows that everything they need for any reason lies within them.
All life’s wisdom is within every person’s heart flame.
It’s up to each individual to awaken the flames of creation.
Every human being knows to love themselves, the greatest love of all.
•by Letha Kiddie•The real aim of meditation is unlocking our heart’s natural devotion for God. The Kriya meditation technique helps us to detach ourselves from the demands and images of daily life. By focusing our awareness on the breath as it moves through each chakra, we purify and energize those centers in our spine and brain, become more receptive to the currents of life force which give us life.
The meditation technique is essential in overcoming the ceaseless flow of thoughts that would keep us from realizing our goal of illumination. Even if you start with five minutes of meditation in the morning and five minutes in the evening, as long as you do something every day, changes will happen.
An important factor is the devotion with which we meditate. Over time, your desire to sit with God will grow. Your thought processes will slow down and your heart will open. You can then enjoy deep communion with whatever image of God you hold, or simply be bathed in the peace, joy, and healing of the Divine.
“Meditate more; go deep. By changing your habits you will awaken in your heart the memory of God’s wondrous Being, and knowing God, there is no doubt that you will love the Divine.” – Paramahansa Yogananda
It is our birthright to experience the uplifting that comes from growing closer to our Creator, experiencing the “breath of life.” The dual aspect of our Creator as Mother and Father can continually wrap us in a cocoon of love, peace, and rapture. The more we fully concentrate with love and devotion in our meditation, the more progress we will make on our inward journey, and the more we will feel at home with the meditation process.
Norman Paulsen, Sunburst’s Founder, has said: God is a living Being we can know and communicate with personally. Our secret thoughts and deepest desires are known by God. The greatest moment of all occurs when we truly realize that God exists and is teaching us how to walk through this life. We then know that we are not alone. We must listen deeply for our Creator’s instructions on how to live correctly; then happiness will come.
•by Sean Fennell•We give ourselves over to the influence of the breathing Earth. Sleep, the shadow of the Earth, seeps into our skin, spreading throughout our limbs, dissolving our individual will into the thousand and one selves that compose it—cells, tissues and organs taking their prime directives from gravity and the wind, as residual bits of sunlight caught in the long tangle of nerves, wanders through the drifting landscape of our Earth-borne bodies, like deer moving across the forested valleys.
Where Spirit, nature and humans meet in oneness—in activity, as well as non-activity—I find my center. Permaculture is not just about growing gardens; it’s about growing infinite possibilities. It’s the marriage of the spiritual with the natural and social, and therefore, one of the highest expressions of co-creating with Spirit.
Everything belongs to Spirit; it’s designed, created, operated and maintained by Spirit. We humans are merely caretakers of this divine creation. As such, we are obligated to share all Spirit’s gifts fairly with others.
The basic principles of permaculture are Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. It’s at the intersection where these three practices converge that infinite possibilities exist. In meditation we strive to commune with Spirit inwardly; in permaculture we strive to connect with Spirit outwardly.
Acknowledging this fact, I’m faced with the questions: “What does permaculture look like at Sunburst?” and “What infinite possibilities can I co-create with Spirit moving forward—not only for the immediate future, but for generations to come?
We sleep, allowing gravity to hold us, allowing Earth, our larger body, to recalibrate our neurons, composting the keen encounters of our waking hours (the tensions, joys and terrors of our individual days), stirring them back as dreams into the sleeping substance of our muscles.
As we move forward, the future of Sunburst looks brighter than ever, for what can be greater than honoring our Divine Mother and Father, by loving and caretaking Mother Earth and all her creatures, utilizing her natural resources with utmost respect and care, loving others as we do ourselves, sharing the fruits of our labor and our God-given talents with passion and commitment?
In the vast, endless sea of eternity, My body, mind and spirit with Thee,
In truth I strive to be the best I can be, Better than none, but simply all I can be. In silence amidst the inner worlds I dance, Feeling Thy presence. Oh the Divine Romance! How can I contain this gift from Thee, How can I let it flow unceasingly? Awakening gladly to the Sun-kissed day, Knowing love cannot be held, simply shared, Given to Nature and to all brothers, sisters dear. This gift, my offering, I humbly bear.
